Different forms of rotating generators and motors are known. Typical rotating motors and generators employ electromagnetic methods to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy, or vice-versa. The construction of an electromagnetic motor or generator is generally complicated. Materials such as copper or iron are often employed in their construction, rendering such rotating motors and generators difficult to use in application requiring small size owing to their weight and bulk. The susceptibility of electromagnetic motors and generators to the influence of magnetic fields also limits their use in many applications.
A particular problem occurs when efforts are made to miniaturize electromagnetic motors and generators. While it is possible to scale down the size of the motors and generators to produce low-power units, electrical conversion efficiency is appreciably reduced and furthermore the fabrication of miniaturized units may be extremely complex. Many presently available commercial electrical motors and generators are not suitable for use in low power applications.
Although piezoelectric generators and motors of small size are known, many such devices suffer from limitations inherent in the various materials employed to form the piezoelectric elements thereof. For example, many piezoelectric materials have permissible strains less than 0.1%, which rather severely limits the amount of mechanical motion or electrical current that can be generated using piezoelectric elements.
What is needed is a piezoelectric motor, generator or transformer having a simple structure, that is light-weight, has low power consumption, permits easy control of speed and direction, produces no or low magnetic field interference with other devices and systems, and that is capable of generating higher levels of electrical current or power, or of increased mechanical output.
Various patents containing subject matter relating directly or indirectly to the field of the present invention include, but are not limited to, the following:
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U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,717 to Erickson for “Hybrid fuse triggering device,” Mar. 6, 1984.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,103 to Vishnevsky at al., for “Piezoelectric Motor,” Jun. 5, 1984.
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U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,285 to Lew for “Piezo Electric Impulse Sensor,” Jun. 23, 1992.
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U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,566 to Goodson for “Ultrasonic Transducer,” May 5, 1998.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,475 to Kimura for “Piezo-Electricity Generation Device,” Sep. 1, 1998.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,917,268 to Takagi for “Vibration Driven Motor,” Jun. 29, 1999. U.S. Pat. No. 5,936,328 to Takano et al. for “Linear Vibration Actuator Utilizing Combined Bending and Longitudinal Vibration Modes,” Aug. 10, 1999.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,954 to Leers et al. for “Piezo-Electric Transformer,” Oct. 5, 1999.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,908 to Goodson for “Transducer Assembly Having Ceramic Structure,” Dec. 7, 1999.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,970 to
U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,562 to Hertz et al. for “Vibrational Energy Waves for Assist in the Print Release Process for Screen Printing,” Oct. 31, 2000.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,862 to Kanno et al. for “Ink-jet head,” Feb. 19, 2002.
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U.S. Pat. No. 6,911,107 to Kagawa et al. for “Piezoelectric film type actuator, liquid discharge head, and method of manufacturing the same,” Jun. 28, 2005.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,952,071 B2 to Bax for “Piezo-Electric Device,” Oct. 4, 2005.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,935 to Iino et al. for “Piezoelectric motor and electronic equipment with piezoelectric motor,” Dec. 27, 2005.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,989,624 B2 to Tsukimoto et al. for “Vibration Element and Vibration Wave Driving Apparatus,” Jan. 24, 2006.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,002,284 B2 to Ouchi et al. for “Thin-Film Micromechanical Resonator, Thin-Film Micromechanical Resonator Gyro, and Navigation System and Automobile Using the Resonator Gyro,” Feb. 21, 2006.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,081,693 to Hamel et al. for “Energy harvesting for wireless sensor operation and data transmission,” Jul. 25, 2006.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,089,638 to Yi et al. for “Method for fabricating a micromachined piezoelectric microspeaker,” Aug. 15, 2006.
European Patent Application No. EP 1 589 643 A2 to Spooner for “Magnetic Force Transmission,” Feb. 25, 2005.
The dates of the foregoing publications may correspond to any one of priority dates, filing dates, publication dates and issue dates. Listing of the above patents and patent applications in this background section is not, and shall not be construed as, an admission by the applicants or their counsel that one or more publications from the above list constitutes prior art in respect of the applicant's various inventions. All printed publications and patents referenced herein are hereby incorporated by referenced herein, each in its respective entirety.
Upon having read and understood the Summary, Detailed Descriptions and Claims set forth below, those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least some of the systems, devices, components and methods disclosed in the printed publications listed herein may be modified advantageously in accordance with the teachings of the various embodiments of the present invention.